1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wire-receiving terminals of the type wherein the wire is retained in one member by action of a second member.
2. Prior Art
The invention disclosed herein is a novel improvement and a departure from at least the following:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 1,566,153 McMunn 2,907,978 Bergan 2,920,305 Gibson et al. 3,349,167 Mixon ______________________________________
McMunn discloses a device employing a wedge to draw two blocks together so that sharp edges on a projecting member of one or other of the blocks enter cable-receiving openings or passages to bite into and firmly grip the cables positioned therein. One block includes an opening to slidingly receive the other block. Both blocks have transverse, aligned slots or key ways to receive the wedge.
Bergan and Gibson et al discloses terminals having a longitudinal, wire-receiving passage with a side opening intersecting the passage. The opening, located on the top of the terminal for convenience, is threaded so that a bolt may be advanced into the passage to compress the wire against the passage wall for mechanical retention and electrical connection. Bergan includes a plate between the bolt tip and wire to reduce the rotating frictional resistence otherwise encountered by the bolt tip bearing directly against the wire. Further, the plate more uniformly distributes the compressive pressure across a wider area of the wire.
Other wedge type electrical devices include the wedge and C-member combination such as made and sold by AMP Incorporated of Harrisburg, Pa., under the trademark AMPACT. Such devices, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,167 receive a wire or cable in each of the arcuate sections of the C-member. The wedge is driven in between the wires to mechanically secure the assembly and electrically join the wires.